by J G Cressey
Still lost in his musings, Cal scooped his mug of tea in one hand and looked up to see Melinda entering the canteen. She was wearing a close-fitting body suit similar to Kaia’s, and he could have sworn her hair was a shade lighter. He slurped at the hot beverage as she approached with her long strides and sat at the end of the table.
“Good morning, Cal, Eddy.”
Almost spilling the steaming tea over his lap, Cal suffered a small coughing fit. Not once during his time spent in Melinda’s company had the cybernetic woman ever addressed him directly. In fact, he’d never seen her talk to anyone other than Viktor. Wiping his chin with his sleeve, he tried to clear his throat. “Yes… Morning, Melinda.”
She smiled at him and then relaxed back in her chair. A little confused by this turn of events, Cal looked over to Toker and Eddy. Toker was still snoring, and Eddy was slouched back, grinning as she glanced at the huge blond knot she’d tied around the chair. Cal wasn’t all that surprised that Eddy had missed the unusual event; she wasn’t the most observant of girls. He’d have to remain confused on his own. But then, he’d been confused a lot of late. At least Kaia was helping to clear some of that confusion now.
“Is, um…is Viktor on his way, Melinda?”
“Yes, Cal, six seconds,” the cybernetic woman replied, turning to smile at him again. Still not quite human, but close.
Moments later, Viktor entered the canteen. He was walking side by side with Kaia, deep in conversation. Bar Toker, who slept on, and Eddy, who was busy staring at Kaia suspiciously, morning greetings were voiced by all. Cal didn’t believe for a second that Eddy’s glaring held any real malice. He suspected the girl had already accepted that Kaia was on their side but was reluctant to lose face. He also suspected a little jealousy.
“How did you sleep?” Kaia asked as she took a seat next to him.
“Fine, thanks,” Cal lied.
Viktor sat himself on the other side of Kaia. “Melinda talked to you yet, Cal?” he asked eagerly.
“As a matter of fact, she has.”
The boy beamed. “Did she come across as natural?”
Cal nodded. “Very,” he replied a little generously.
Viktor continued to beam. “Kaia’s been helping me. You should see the tech lab down there. All the kits and spare parts you could dream of. New stuff too. I can help myself, right, Kaia?”
She nodded. “Anything you need.”
“That’s very generous, Kaia.”
She gave a little shrug. “It’s just good to have someone down there who really knows what they’re doing.”
The boy’s cheeks turned pink.
“Oh, bloody hell,” Eddy suddenly snapped, glaring at them from the other side of the table. “Don’t tell me you bloody fancy her too, Vik.”
“Shut up,” Viktor hissed, his face turning from pink to red.
Cal looked at Kaia; unlike Viktor, she’d barely reacted to the comment at all. So much so that Cal thought her oblivious to Eddy’s meaning.
“No arguing at the breakfast table,” Jumper said without turning from the stove, “else you’ll be getting nothing but long life protein blocks to chew on.”
The calm threat even managed to silence Eddy, but the peace was brief.
“Arrrgghh.” Toker had finally woken and attempted to sit up. “What the…?” He reached up with his hand to find the large, tangled knot of hair. First, he looked shocked. Then, he grinned. “Very bloody funny, Ed.”
Eddy’s sour look had been replaced by silent racks of laughter adorned with an occasional uncontrolled snort.
“Yeah, laugh it up,” Toker encouraged. “Don’t forget though, little pipsqueak, you don’t get one past ol’ Toker without it coming back at you…threefold.” He was standing now. At least, he was attempting to stand; the chair dangling from his head was forcing him to bend over as he desperately dug his fingers into the tangled knot. “I can’t undo it. I can’t bloody untie it. Seriously, guys, I’m not joking. Okay, new rule, Ed, not the hair in the future, okay? Or the face. Agreed?”
Eddy was too busy fighting for breath to answer.
Cal looked at Kaia; her eyes were bright with amusement. The lonely existence she’d endured had well and truly been disrupted, and she looked very glad of it. She turned his way smiling. Realising he was staring at her a little dumbly, he returned the smile. “Never a dull moment.”
Jumper approached the table, a huge bowl of eggs in one hand and a tray filled with sausages in his other. “Breakfast is served,” he said with a wide grin. Leaning over the table, he placed the bowl and tray down then walked over to the still-struggling Toker. Casually pulling a gleaming chef’s knife from a sheaf on his hip, he flicked his wrist and sliced through Toker’s hair just above the knot, causing the chair to crash to the ground. “Take a seat, Toker, we don’t want the eggs to get cold.”
Toker held the clump of shortened hair before his eyes then turned to shake his head at Eddy. She was too busy wiping the tears from her face to notice. “I was going ask Melinda for a haircut anyway,” he mumbled, picking up his chair and sitting himself down.
“That would be my pleasure, Toker,” Melinda replied.
A little startled, Toker looked across the table at Melinda. “Who the hell are you?”
“It’s Melinda, you dolt,” Viktor snapped.
“I know, but since when does she speak?” Toker asked, looking around at everyone, “I mean, to anyone other than her little man?”
“I’ve been upgrading her programming,” the boy replied with a sniff. “Been meaning to do it for ages but haven’t had a decent enough tech lab. The military can be damn stingy with their gear.”
“You programmed in any new moves?” Eddy asked casually, reaching over and grabbing a handful of sausages. “I mean, she’s strong, but her fightin’ technique is a bit off if you ask me. Guess I could teach her a few things before we get to facin’ these alien critter things.”
“You’re kidding,” Viktor snorted. “Melinda’s combat programming incorporates the best of one hundred and twenty-one proven fighting disciplines.”
“Uh huh, so program in my fightin’ discipline, an’ she’ll have a hundred an’ twenny-two.”
“Ha!” Toker blurted as he leaned over the table, scooped up a huge portion of scrambled eggs, and dumped them on his plate, “You haven’t got a fighting discipline, Ed; you bloody make it up as you go along.”
“Right,” Eddy agreed. “That’s the best kind. It’s instinct fightin’. Better than squealing like a little girl and runnin’ away.”
Toker looked at her, an egg-filled fork paused partway to his mouth. “Little girl! You do realize that you actually are a little girl, don’t you?’
Eddy snorted. “We’ll soon see… When we face up to them neck critter things, then we’ll see who’s the biggest little girl.”
Toker put down his fork and grinned at her. “You know, I wonder sometimes if even you know what the hell you’re going on about cos sure as hell no one else does.”
”I know what I’m sayin’,” Eddy said defensively then filled her cheeks with an entire sausage. “Cal, when we gonna get to them neck critters?” she mumbled between chews.
Cal winced inwardly at the question. His caution motto had lasted all of one day. In his defense he’d originally voted against heading to the planet C9. In fact, he’d argued caution for a full hour or near enough. But then Kaia had convinced him otherwise. Even if she’d been wrong, she’d still probably have convinced him with that smile of hers. But, he had to concede, she had it right. Risking the lives of a few for the lives of many may be a cliché, but it didn’t make it any less true. Of course, it didn’t help when those few were your friends, your family.
But it was a mammoth task. Surely, the rescue of thousands required at least hundreds and not a few? Again, Kaia had shown her worth. She’d already proved the effectiveness of stealth over force, and she’d devised a plan that utilized the best of that stealth. There would be an inevit
able point where force was needed, but the supporting numbers were already there. What better fighters than those fighting for their own freedom? All they had to do was give the imprisoned soldiers that fighting chance, something that the seven of them might just be able to pull off.
“We’ll arrive at C9 by tomorrow, Eddy. Then at least a week of prep, right, Kaia?”
“I think a week will be enough,” she replied, looking a little worried. Uncertain. Cal knew the feeling. He’d come up with a fair few military strategies himself over the years, and doubt was a constant partner. The bigger the plan, the bigger the worry, and this plan certainly wasn’t small.
“The plan is a good one,” he said, hoping to take the edge off her unease. “And if all goes well, we won’t actually be facing the enemy at all.” The prisoners will have that privilege.
Eddy looked on the verge of protest but instead pushed another sausage into her mouth.
“I think we need to come up with a name,” Viktor said after a moment. “None of us know what to call these, alien critter parasite thingies.”
Toker nodded. “He’s got a good point.”
“Carcarrions, ain’t they?”
Toker shook his head. “No, Ed, they’re just drones, the poor buggers who ended up dead and hijacked,” he said, scooping up another huge portion of eggs even though his plate was still half full. “It’s the evil little hitchers on their necks that need to be named.”
Eddy nodded thoughtfully and after a moment of chewing blurted out, “Wormoids. No, Sluggoids.”
Toker screwed up his face. “We’ll save those as backups I think.”
“Don’t see you comin’ up with any good ‘uns.”
“I think Kaia should name them,” Toker said, turning to Kaia. “What say you, Doc? You kinda discovered them after all.”
Eddy huffed, letting a few bits of chewed sausage fly free to land on the shiny white table.
Kaia hesitated then gave Cal a quick glance before saying, “Actually, I think Eddy was pretty close with wormoids; there’s a species called the hairworm or Spinochordodes tellinii, a parasite sometimes found in grasshoppers. The nasty little things like water, so they control the grasshopper and get it to drown itself.”
“Grim,” Toker muttered.
“Yes,” Kaia agreed. “There’s also Paraponera clavata, an insidious fungus that takes control of the brains of ants.”
“Huh, parapona clavituh, an’ you thought my names were bad,” Eddy protested.
“Ease up, Ed.”
“No, it’s fine, Toker,” Kaia said quickly. “Eddy’s right. I don’t have a creative flair for names. Too much dull science going on in my brain.”
”How’s about puppeteers?” Viktor offered.
“Not bad, bro. Maybe a little bit on the cute side though, eh?”
“Cal?”
“Huh.” Cal tore his eyes from Kaia and looked around. “Sorry, Toker. Um, what?”
Toker eyed him with an amused glint. “Any ideas for names?”
“Er, no. Coming up blank, I’m afraid.”
Eddy scooped up some eggs. “Vampoids.”
Toker shook his head. “You got a thing about the ‘oids, don’t you?”
Eddy dumped the eggs clumsily on her plate, then said, “Insidions.”
Toker went silent for a moment. “Huh. Insidions,” he said, his eyebrows raising.
“That’s what I said, Insidions. Like lady doc over there said, ‘insidious mushrooms,’ or somethin’.”
“Insidions,” Toker repeated the word, rolling his tongue around it. “You know, I reckon that’s actually…well, that’s actually pretty damn good, Ed. Insidions, yeah, I like it.”
Eddy grinned then shrugged nonchalantly.
“What thinks the rest of you?” Toker said, looking around the table.
“Sounds fitting to me,” Kaia said.
The unanimous nodding seemed to settle it.
Baffled, Cal watched Toker and Eddy consume the last two sausages. He didn’t doubt the two of them were way beyond full but, just like most things, eating had turned into a competition between the pair. Letting out a contented sigh, he stood up and reached over to take the bowl of eggs, now scraped clean.
Melinda stood. “Please, allow me, Cal.”
Cal smiled and nodded his thanks as the cybernetic woman reached over and picked up the empty bowl and sausage tray. Melinda had included herself numerous times in the various conversations over breakfast, but it was still taking him by surprise whenever she spoke.
Kaia passed her plate along. “Jumper, I think that was the best meal I’ve had since…well, ever.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Jumper said with broad smile. “A fit, healthy young woman like yourself can’t live on rehydrated noodles alone. Especially with a scientific brain to feed, isn’t that right, Viktor?”
The boy, who was still nibbling on a sausage, quietly nodded in agreement.
“I’ve given cooking a pretty good try in the past, but it’s not really my forte, I’m afraid.”
“Well, I’m here to cook for you now. We can’t have you starved of nutrients. In fact, I’m eager, if you don’t mind that is, to dig into that huge collection of Alvorian herbs. I couldn’t help noticing the culinary section in the botany lab. I imagine there’s some real gems in there.”
“I don’t mind at all. You’d be wise to stick to the blue vials though. We’ve found some pretty strange herbs on Alvor that have…odd effects on the body.”
“Yes, I’ve tried some myself back on Mars,” Jumper said with a chuckle. “Well, if you don’t mind, I think I might go poke around in a few now.”
Gladdened by his old friend’s enthusiasm, Cal watched as he briskly made his way out of the canteen. “He’ll be like a kid in a candy shop sifting through all those herbs.”
Kaia smiled then shook her head. “How are they all so calm and relaxed? I mean…with what we’re about to face.”
“They’re a brave bunch.”
“I wish I could feel braver. I wish I could relax.”
Cal smiled. “Trust me, you are relaxed, I’ve seen battle-hardened soldiers biting their nails when there’s no nails left to bite before a mission. You’ll be fine. Besides, if all goes to plan, those…Insidions…won’t even know we’re there until it’s too late for them.”
“There’s a lot riding on my plan, Cal. Makes me nervous. After all, I’m hardly a military strategist!”
“You could be. It’s a damn good plan.” He wished he could take some of her burden, but the fact was, it was one hundred percent her plan. “If it makes you feel better, we’ll double and triple check each step together.”
“I’d really appreciate that,” she said, pushing away from the table and getting to her feet.
“Now?” he asked, looking up at her with a grin.
She nodded. “Yes please. Last night, it was all talk. Maybe it’s time I actually showed you a few things.”
Cal’s grin widened. “I thought you’d never ask.”
The Orillian’s hanger was a stark contrast to the sleek appearance of the rest of the ship. It was all blocks of unpolished metal, grated floors, and heavy launch doors built for practicality rather than style. Bar a few particularly advanced-looking cranes and loaders, the hanger itself didn’t appear much different than any other. As well as the Star Splinter, there were three other ships present: two simple dropships and a very small craft that Cal didn’t recognize.
With Kaia by his side, they strolled towards the Star Splinter. As he neared, he couldn’t help but let out a long, impressed whistle. “Kaia, this is incredible. You did all this yourself?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much choice. Viktor and Melinda have helped a lot over the past couple of days though.”
Sitting neatly in front of the Star Splinter’s loading ramp were rows upon rows of large crates, each one filled to the brim with hand-held weaponry. Cal could see everything from slimline pistols to big, ten-click p
ulse blasters. Looming tall behind the crates were masses of multi-level racks holding meticulously neat rows of syringes, each containing a bright green substance. Neither the racks nor the crates held Cal’s attention for long, however. Instead, his eyes were drawn to a tall figure standing, statue still, next to the loading ramp. A fully grown Carcarrion.
Cal’s heart felt as though it took a momentary pause. He gestured towards the alien figure. “I assume that fellow is the infiltrator, not one of your drones escaped from its cage?”
“Sorry, I forgot to warn you about that. Yes, that’s the infiltrator,” she assured him as she walked towards the tall, menacing figure.
“Glad to hear it,” he replied, his heart seeming to start up again and indulging in a couple of extra beats. His mind felt so overstuffed that he’d almost forgotten this particular element of Kaia’s plan. As he approached, the realism of the Carcarrion astounded him. But then it stood to reason that if a synthetic combat soldier could be made to look human, the same technology could be used to create a realistic, synthetic Carcarrion.
“What do you think,” Kaia asked, “will it pass as one of the enemy?”
It better. The plan’ll go to hell if it doesn’t. He nodded. “It certainly fooled me.” And if the plan goes to hell, all these rifles will make damn expensive clubs. During her observations of the enemy, Kaia had discovered the reason for the military’s failure to put up any sort of fight: a disrupter signal emanating from the Insidion vessel that rendered pulse weaponry inert. Unfortunately, pulse-based weapons were a clear favorite of the military from the huge starship cannons to simple pistols. Without a weapon, what sort of a fight could a human put up against a Carcarrion drone? Cal could scarcely believe the simplicity of it. One single, disrupting signal becoming the ultimate weapon, devastating in its effect. Fortunately, Kaia had managed to pinpoint the signal’s source. Unfortunately, that source was deep inside the Insidion vessel.